The Board of Education shall be composed of nine members, one
member from each of the four wards of the City, four at-large members
and the Chairperson. The ward members shall be elected by and from
the qualified voters of the ward, and the candidate for each ward
receiving the largest number of votes cast in each ward shall be elected
to represent that ward. The at-large members shall be elected by and
from the qualified voters of the City and the candidate(s) receiving
the largest number of votes cast City wide shall be elected Board
member(s).
The terms of all members shall be for three years or until their successors are elected and qualified. Including the office of Chairperson, no person may be elected as a member of the Board for more than three consecutive three-year terms, unless he or she was elected to an initial term of 18 months or less, in which case he or she may still be elected to three consecutive three-year terms. Members shall be nominated and elected under the provisions of Article V. Their qualifications as to residency in a ward and the effect of removal therefrom shall be the same as in the case of Councilors hereinbefore set forth.
In case of vacancy caused by forfeiture of office, death, resignation, removal from the ward in which elected, removal from the City, or removal from office, the Council shall call a special election to fill the vacancy within the same provisions as set forth for the Council in Article II, Section 5.
The members of the Board, except the Chairperson, shall receive
as a stipend the sum of $200 per month and shall be reimbursed for
actual authorized out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the performance
of official duties.
No member of the Board elected at large or by the several wards
shall be a member of the Council nor shall he or she be eligible,
while a member of the Board, to hold any office of emolument or profit
under the City Charter or ordinances, nor to hold the office of City
Manager during the term for which the member was elected.
Five members of the Board, including the Chairperson, shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a smaller
number may adjourn from time to time. At least 24 hours' notice of
the time and place of resumption of such adjourned meeting shall be
given to all members who were not present at the meeting from which
the adjournment was taken.
The Board shall perform all the duties and be vested with all
the rights and power of superintending school committees of towns,
including the right to direct the expenditures of all school monies.
The Board shall function as the policy-making body of the Department
of Education (School Department). It is not intended that the Board
be involved with the day-to-day administrative matters except as required
by statute.
The Board shall keep a record of its proceedings and shall determine
and enforce its own rules relating to procedure, misconduct and forfeiture
of office. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public.
The Board shall adopt and maintain a written policy manual and shall
revise and amend the manual when necessary and as appropriate. No
revision and no amendment to the policy manual shall be passed until
it has been read and voted on two separate days at least four weeks
apart, except when dispensed with by an affirmative vote of six members
of the Board.
All members present shall vote on all matters brought before
the Board which require a vote unless excused by the Board for conflict
of interest. Agenda for the business anticipated to be conducted at
formal meetings of the Board shall be available to the public at the
Superintendent's office at least two business days prior to the meeting.
The yeas and nays shall be recorded on any vote when called for by
any member of the Board. A verbatim electronic recording of suitable
quality as to be audible of all public meetings shall be made and
placed on file within seven days at the office of the City Clerk for
at least one year. Possession and handling of these recordings shall
be restricted to the office of the City Clerk, which shall provide
for the listening or transcribing of the recordings upon reasonable
request.
The Board shall annually prepare a report of the affairs and
conditions of the City schools for the school year ending on the 30th
day of June preceding, and shall submit a copy of the report to the
City Manager and to each member of the Council by the first day of
August of each year. Not later than 90 days prior to the beginning
of a new fiscal year, the Board shall prepare and file with the City
manager, with copies to each member of the council, a detailed estimate
in the form of a line budget as prescribed by the Council, in accordance
with state law, of the amount needed for school purposes for the upcoming
school fiscal year.
No later than May 1 annually, the Mayor shall call a joint public
meeting of the Board, the Chairperson, the Superintendent, the Mayor,
the City Manager and the council to consider the school budget.
A Chairperson of the Board shall be elected by and from the
qualified voters of the City. The Chairperson shall be elected for
a term of three years or until a successor is elected and qualified,
except that when elected to fill a vacancy the Chairperson shall hold
office only for the unexpired term or until a successor is elected
and qualified.
No person may be elected as Chairperson of the Board for more
than three consecutive three-year terms, unless he or she was elected
to an initial term of 18 months or less, in which case he or she may
be elected to three consecutive three-year terms. This limitation
does not prevent a school board member from being elected to three
consecutive terms as Chairperson starting immediately after that member’s
term expires on the board.
In case of the vacancy caused by forfeiture of office, death, resignation, removal from the City, or removal from office of the Chairperson, the Council shall call a special election to fill the vacancy within the same provisions as those set forth for the Mayor in Article III, Section 2.
The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Board and
shall perform such other duties not inconsistent with the office as
the Board may impose. The Chairperson shall have the right to vote
only when there is a tie vote of the Board.
The Chairperson's stipend shall be fixed at $225 per month and
the Chairperson shall be reimbursed for actual authorized out-of-pocket
expenses incurred in the performance of official duties.
(Amendment No. 4-1974, 11-5-1974; Ord. No. 648, 11-20-1978;
Amendment of 11-3-1998; Amendment of 11-5-2002; Amendment of 11-4-2008;
Amendment of 6-12-2018)
In the absence of the Chairperson of the Board, the most senior
at-large Board member shall open the meeting and preside until the
Board shall elect from those members present a Chairperson Pro Tem
to serve during such meeting. While presiding, the Chairperson of
the Board Pro Tem shall have the right to vote on all matters.
(Ord. No. 648, 11-20-1978; Amendment of 11-3-1998; Amendment
of 11-4-2008)
The Board of Education shall select the Superintendent of Schools
in accordance with the laws of the State of Maine.
The Superintendent shall perform all the duties imposed by law
upon superintendents of schools and shall prepare and submit to the
Board such reports and shall perform such other duties as the Board
of Education may require, and shall make such recommendations to the
Board concerning the affairs of the Department of Education as he
or she deems advisable.
(Amendment of 6-14-1988; Amendment of 11-4-2008; Amendment of
11-4-2014)
There shall be created a joint conference committee composed
of the Mayor and two Councilors appointed by the Mayor along with
the Chairperson of the Board and two Board members appointed by the
Chairperson. The Mayor shall chair the conference committee and the
City Manager and Superintendent of Schools or their designees shall
staff the conference committee.
The conference committee shall meet at the call of the Mayor,
principally during the time of the formulation of the school budget.
It shall be the responsibility of the committee to be a conduit of
information between the two elected bodies and to try mutually to
deal with situations where the proposed financial needs of the School
Department exceed the perceived ability of the Council to fund these
needs within the constraints of a reasonable and prudent fiscal budget.
The committee shall report its findings and recommendations
to the Council and the Board.
(Amendment of 6-14-1988; Amendment of 11-3-1998)
